Injection molding is a manufacturing process used for fabricating different plastic parts. It is one of the most commonly used methods of molding. There are a large number of products of different complexities, sizes, and applications that are manufactured using the injection molding process. It requires raw plastic material, injection molding machine, and a mold to carry out the molding process efficiently. The injection molding machine melts the plastic, and this melted plastic is injected into the mold. It is cooled and solidified to form the final part. This molding process is particularly used, when repetitive production of similar parts on a large scale is required. Injection molding is widely used in aerospace industry for manufacturing different parts. What are they? How is this process useful in aerospace industry? You will find the answers to these questions in the following post.
What are the Benefits of Implementing Injection Molding in Aerospace Industry?
Aerospace plastic injection molding has a number of benefits, which makes it an ideal method to manufacture most of the components used in the aerospace industry. What are these benefits? Read on to know:
- Design Flexibility: Designers can consider part consolidation by implementing injection molding process to the interior components of an aircraft. This can be done by giving importance to design flexibility.
- Complex Geometry & Fine Features: Different aircraft components and parts with complex geometry can be produced with the help of this molding process.
- Tight Tolerance: Small and mid-sized aerospace products with tight tolerances can be easily manufactured using injection molding.
- Excellent Repeatability: This method has an excellent repeatability, can be used to produce a huge number of parts with same features. For example: the second part produced by injection molding is similar and identical to the first part produced.
Which Aerospace Products are Produced Using Injection Molding Process?
Aerospace injection molding process is used to manufacture different parts required in an aircraft. These parts are injection molded to be able to survive harsh environmental conditions. Here is a list of injection molded parts in aerospace industry:
- Bezels
- Turbine Blades
- Lenses
- Panels
- Turbine Housings
- Chassis Components
- Enclosure and Containers
- Subsequent Molds
The above mentioned parts are required by both commercial, as well as military and defense engineering. Injection molding makes this possible.
What are the Capabilities of Aerospace Injection Molding?
Here are the capabilities of the aerospace injection molding process, which can be used to manufacture various parts of different specifications:
Material | Low-Density Polyethylene (LLDPE) Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) / Linear AcetalPolyetherimide (PEI) Acrylic Polyimide (PI) Copolymer Polypropylene Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) Liquid Crystal Polymer (LCP) High Impact Polystyrene (HIPS) Microcellular Polyurethane (PU) Nylon Polystyrene Polypropylene (PP) Polyether Ether Ketone (PEEK) Polyester Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) Polycarbonate (PC) |
Tolerance (±) | 0.001 in |
Maximum Clamping Force | 88 t |
Minimum Clamping Force | 8 t |
Maximum Shot Size | 6.3 oz |
These were some advantages, capabilities, and applications of aerospace plastic injection molding process. This makes it very clear why this molding process is so popular in the aerospace industry. Do you still have any doubts? You can contact experts, such as Veejay Plastic, who has expertise in providing custom plastic injection molded parts to aerospace industry. Experts will help you in realizing your injection molding parts requirements.